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Release Date: April 14, 2009
Release Number: 09-368-ATL (094)
Contact Name: Michael Wald
Phone Number: 404.562.2078
Atlanta – The U.S. Department of Labor has
sued Batesville Truck Line and Jet Transportation and the trustees of
the company’s 401(k) plan for allegedly failing to administer the plan
in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).
Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western
District of Tennessee, the lawsuit alleges that after the company ceased
operations in 1994, the defendants failed to terminate the 401(k) plan
and ensure its assets were properly distributed to participants. The
department alleges that the company and defendants Michael Mitchell,
Elbert Mitchell and Z.T. Fortescue III failed to administer the plan.
“When companies and their executives fail to
properly wind down the affairs of pension plans, participants are left
stranded without the resources needed to access their retirement
funds,” said R.C. Marshall, regional director of the department’s
Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) office in Atlanta.
The department is seeking a court order appointing an
independent fiduciary at the defendants’ expense to arrange for the
termination of the plan and distribution of its assets.
In fiscal year 2008, EBSA achieved monetary results
of $1.2 billion related to pension, 401(k), health and other benefits
for millions of American workers and their families. Employers and
workers can reach EBSA’s Atlanta Regional Office at 404.302.3900 or
toll-free at 866.444.3272 for help with problems relating to private
sector retirement and health plans.
Solis v. Batesville Truck Line
(Civil Action Number Case 2:09-cv-02198-JPM-tmp)
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